New Global Lead Robot Inspector

Earlier this fall, FIRST^® Robotics Competition decided to bring in a new voice and perspective to the Global Lead Robot Inspector (LRI) role to help us continue to evolve the program and ensure robot rules and the Inspection process are aligned to our programmatic goals. I would like to share my thanks and appreciation to Al Skierkiewicz for his extraordinary dedication as a Global LRI. Al won the FIRST Robotics Competition Volunteer of the Year award back in 2013 for all the work he had put in up to that point and responded by continuing to dedicate himself to the role for another dozen years. While we have decided that it’s time to seek a new candidate for this role, we recognize and appreciate everything that Al has done to get the program to this point. Thank you, Al, for your decades of service as an event volunteer and team mentor!

The new FIRST Robotics Competition Global Lead Robot Inspector is Alida Mendes-MacCracken!

Alida joined FIRST^® during the 2002 season on FIRST Robotics Competition Team 360 The Revolution, from Tacoma, WA. After graduating, she obtained a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington. She has mentored teams in both FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST^® Tech Challenge.

As a volunteer, Alida has been Head Judge Advisor for FIRST Tech Challenge in Washington, Senior District Lead Robot Inspector for the Pacific Northwest District, and a Division Lead Robot Inspector at the FIRST Championship. Alida earned the PNW Volunteer of the Year Award in 2015.

Professionally, Alida leads FRC & FTC Program & Mentor Support for FIRST Washington. Prior to joining FIRST Washington, Alida built a diverse experience as an engineer, program manager, and teacher, including being a Principal Hardware Engineer at Microsoft.

Welcome, Alida!